Good Tampa area beaches??

[sweet tooth]

We are flying out of Tampa - and will be spending the last day of vacation (July 12th) in that area in order to be closer to the Airport. Anyhoo - Can you recommend a good beach to spend the day - easy to get to, clean and more family oriented? I know I ask a lot - but any help would be greatly appreciated. We are clueless!

 

[wdisneelvr]

There is a thread "Gulf Beaches for a Day" on this board and it has some pretty good ideas.

Good luck!

 

[kabauer]

We stayed in Tierra Verde, about 25 min or so from Tampa, in July. There is a beach there called Fort DeSoto Nat'l Park. It was outstanding. I believe Dr. Beach rated it 4th or 5th in Florida. Anyway it cost .35Cents to get in. It has a stunning beach, showers, concession stands, picnic area, playgrounds and a dog park. We did several Gulf Coast beaches this past July and it was our favorite.

 

[thumperjr9]

About how long of a drive would FT DeSoto Nat'l park be from Orlando? We want to go to a beach for a day. Are there lots of shells on the beach? My DS4 would love finding shells.